The Reverend Daniel Peter Brown, South Dakota Pioneer

THE REVEREND DANIEL PETER BROWN,
SOUTH DAKOTA PIONEER*
BY AGNES NATHALIA HANSON
On a knoll seventeen miles north and one mile west of
Vermillion, South Dakota, stands a log cabin which has
recently been restored. This log cabin is not being pre­served
as a shrine to a saint, nor, i n the opinion of many,
was it the home of a sinner. But just where on this earth
do the acts of a human being start or stop to mark him a
saint or a sinner?
At times the knoll where the cabin stands was literally
covered with the wagons of homeseekers. It is known that
as many as thirty-five to forty were there at a time. These
white canvas-covered wagons could be seen at a far dis­tance,
and consequently the knoll came to be called
"Brown's H i l l . " This log cabin was the home of Reverend
Brown during his stay of approximately thirteen years in
Clay County. Not only was it his home but it was the
gathering place for immigrants who, advised beforehand,
came in their ox-drawn wagons and remained there pend­ing
selections and filing of claims.
The officials i n charge of the land office in Vermillion
could not speak Swedish, the pioneers could not speak
English, and thus Reverend Brown was needed as the i n ­terpreter.
The Swedes were anxious to obtain new homes,
the officials received a fee from the $14.00, the cost of the
file, and thus Reverend was truly in demand. He had a
general knowledge of law and was able to interpret for
the newcomers the rules and regulations of land grants.
Daniel Peter Brown, known as Reverend Brown, was
born in 1827 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of a minister
"This essay is one of more than two thousand manuscripts submitted to the
Swedish American Line in connection with the contest sponsored by the
Swedish American in commemoration of the Swedish Pioneer Centennial in
1948.
56
of the State Church of Sweden. He was educated for the
ministry. Whether he was ordained or not no one knows,
but presumably something had happened which degraded
his standing. He told nothing of his background; anything
pertaining to his past was secret.
He emigrated to the United States, and in his new world
he assumed the surname Brown which originally may have
been B r u n or Bruhn. Probably also to lose more complete­l
y his identity he enlisted for service in the C i v i l War. He
was mustered i n at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on March 5,
1862, as a corporal, Company E. 5th Minnesota Volunteer
Infantry.
The war records at the time of enrollment of Daniel Peter
Brown gave his age as thirty-five; his height, five feet,
nine and one-half inches; his coloring, dark complexion,
grey eyes, auburn hair, and his occupation, a "preacher."
The records say that he participated in the siege of Vicks­burg
which ended July 4, 1863.
The medical records of this soldier show that he was ad­mitted
to the United States General Hospital at Jefferson
Barracks, Missouri, August 10, 1863, and was discharged
from that hospital September 12, 1863. He was honorably
discharged at St. Louis, Missouri, as a sergeant, September
9, 1863, by reason of "disability, phthisis, and emanciation."
From the date of his discharge from the United States
Army to his appearance i n Clay County, Dakota Territory,
there is no record of Reverend Brown's whereabouts.
On February 1, 1869, Reverend Brown filed homestead
application at Vermillion for the south half of the south­west
quarter, Section 23, and the north half of the north­west
quarter, Section 26, Township 95, Range 52, Riverside
Township, Clay County, Dakota Territory. Patents for
the above described lands were issued to Daniel Peter
Brown on February 10,1873, under Vermillion final certifi­cate
number 201.
A dugout in the side of a bluff on his claim served as
Reverend Brown's first home. He lived in it for a short
period of time until he had the log cabin built. This cabin,
57
patterned after the Swedish Svardsjobor in Dalarna, was
built by two other homeseekers i n the locality. It was con­structed
of hardwood logs found along the bluffs of the
Vermillion River which ran through his claim. The two
pioneers received as pay for their labor an equal number of
logs required to build a log cabin. These they transported
by oxen and wagon to their respective claims for the con­struction
of their own homes.
The one-room cabin measures twelve feet by seventeen
feet and eight feet from floor to ceiling. The one door
opens to the south with a window on each side of the door,
one window to the west and one to the east. There is a
chimney at the far end. In one corner of the room is a
ladder stairway leading to a loft which was used for sleep­ing
room. The floor is plank hardwood. A mixture of mud
and straw was used to fill the space between the logs. Orig­inally
the roof was thatched, but in reconstruction the roof
has been covered with long "bottom hay" which grows wild
along the Vermillion.
Reverend Brown's log cabin was a regular rendezvous
for pioneers who came for advice on matters of varied i n ­terests.
Hosts of early settlers looked to him when i n need.
He was always the willing contributor. He often visited the
ill in the settlement and gave generously to those who were
i n want of food. In one instance he took i n the entire fam­ily
of a pioneer whose home had burned, and they remained
with Reverend Brown until a new home was built.
The log cabin was the scene of the first public school of
Riverside and Glenwood Townships. Reverend Brown him­self
conducted the school for three years before school dis­tricts
were established. His services were gratis. There
were many i n attendance as all were eager to have their
children learn the English language. In fact, many adults
attended the school. No textbooks were available; however,
with the aid of slates and slatepencils the three R's were
taught.
Before any church organizations were established i n the
settlement, the log cabin was the meeting place for reli-
58
gious services. Reverend Brown conducted the services on
Sunday mornings according to the custom and ritual of the
State Church of Sweden. He also baptized infants, per­formed
marriage rites, and conducted funeral services. He
conducted Sunday School at his cabin and trained young
people for Confirmation. There was no means for musical
accompaniment, but the services included the singing of
hymns from songbooks brought by the settlers from Swed-den.
Reverend Brown was a scholar and a naturalist. He
spoke fluently the Swedish, German, and English languages,
and he knew L a t i n and Greek. He also had a knowledge of
chemistry and botany. Below the bluff, near the river, he
kept a flower garden. He also built an arboreal pergola.
Within the shelter of the climbing ivy and wild cucumber
he had a table and chairs where he often sat and enjoyed
the outdoors.
For two years Sioux Indians lived on Reverend Brown's
land. Their tents were pitched on the bottom across the
river from his cabin. He was able to converse with the In­dians
and had purposely made friends with them to avoid
possible trouble. While wintering on his land, they elected
Reverend Brown their "chief." He often received gifts of
blankets and trinkets from them, and they when in need
relied on him for food.
While the usual means of transportation for the pioneers
was by oxen and wagon, Reverend Brown drove a span of
Indian ponies and a buggy. He did little actual labor; he
hired men to do his farming operations which were never
extensive; he drew no pension from the government; yet
he always seemed to have money.
A few people frowned on Reverend Brown's personal be­havior
and would have nothing to do with him. He used
intoxicants and was at times drunk. It was not uncommon
that after some meetings at the cabin, the floor would be
cleared and the visitors with him would engage in dancing.
Several of the Swedes were excellent fiddlers.
59
About the year 1882 Reverend Brown sold his farm to a
Norwegian on a crop-payment plan. The agreement was
that Reverend Brown was to receive a stated number of
bushels of wheat per year as long as he lived. It is not
known how well the terms of this agreement turned out.
After selling his farm, Reverend Brown moved to St.
Helena, Nebraska, and lived on land which, records do not
show, was acquired by him or may have been simply "lived
on." He often went fishing and occasionally crossed the
Missouri River to Yankton, South Dakota, to secure pro­visions.
On such trips Reverend Brown always carried with him a
knapsack made of beaver skin. In this he kept his personal
papers which he never allowed anyone to see or touch.
Following one of these trips to Yankton, the empty knap­sack
was found, but Reverend Brown had disappeared
completely.
Rumor has it that he was poisoned and his body thrown
into a well, the well being filled and abandoned. Other
rumor hints that a woman was involved. A l l rumor seems
to substantiate the belief that he met foul play. In any
event, Reverend Brown disappeared mysteriously; his life
previous to his arrival in the United States remains a mys­tery;
however, his stay in Clay County definitely is not.
Whether he was a saint or a sinner, Reverend Brown's
"Log Cabin on the H i l l " now stands not as a shrine but as
a memorial to a benefactor to two-hundred forty-four Swed­ish
pioneers who made settlement in Clay County and who
all were aided directly or indirectly by him.
This area of Swedish settlement covers approximately
forty-thousand five-hundred acres. Most of the pioneers
filed on a claim of one-hundred sixty acres; some filed also
on an additional one-hundred sixty acres under a "pre­emption
claim." Others took a claim of a forty or eighty-acre
tract under the "Timber Culture Act."
The sons and daughters of these pioneers, now in the
third and fourth generations, still own practically all this
60
land. Log cabins and ox-drawn wagons and plows have been
replaced by the most modern of homes and farm imple­ments.
There are schools and churches to accommodate all.
It is a happy, prosperous community adding an abounding
wealth i n spirit and material to the progress of our democ­racy.
Many of the descendants of these pioneers have remained
with the soil. However, others have made more prominent
names for themselves. Peter Norbeck, an ex-governor of
South Dakota and a former member of the United States
Senate, is one of these descendants. Dr. Henry Hanson, a
noted bacteriologist credited w i th stamping out yellow fever
in the Panama Canal Zone, was born i n Clay County a son
of a Swedish pioneer. The father of Clinton P. Anderson,
former Secretary of Agriculture held a homestead claim
in Clay County.
This is just a small start at numbering the descendants
of the Swedish settlers i n Clay County who are patriotic
citizens of the United States serving mankind in every ca­pacity.
Among these are many educators including, inci­dentally,
your writer, a public school teacher, Agnes Na­thalia
Hanson.
BOOK REVIEWS
G u s t a v u s A d o l p h u s : A H i s t o r y of S w e d e n 1611-1632 Vol­ume
I: 1611-1626 by Roberts, Michael. (Longmans,
Green & Co., London, 1953), pp. x i v + 585
The liaison between ivory tower and arm chair is one of
the most difficult and neglected of a l l writing jobs; Profes­sor
Roberts has set himself precisely this task and he has
succeeded superbly. He has not delved into the archives or
deciphered ancient manuscripts, but he has read exhaustive­ly
in the works of others who have published documents
61

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THE REVEREND DANIEL PETER BROWN,
SOUTH DAKOTA PIONEER*
BY AGNES NATHALIA HANSON
On a knoll seventeen miles north and one mile west of
Vermillion, South Dakota, stands a log cabin which has
recently been restored. This log cabin is not being pre­served
as a shrine to a saint, nor, i n the opinion of many,
was it the home of a sinner. But just where on this earth
do the acts of a human being start or stop to mark him a
saint or a sinner?
At times the knoll where the cabin stands was literally
covered with the wagons of homeseekers. It is known that
as many as thirty-five to forty were there at a time. These
white canvas-covered wagons could be seen at a far dis­tance,
and consequently the knoll came to be called
"Brown's H i l l . " This log cabin was the home of Reverend
Brown during his stay of approximately thirteen years in
Clay County. Not only was it his home but it was the
gathering place for immigrants who, advised beforehand,
came in their ox-drawn wagons and remained there pend­ing
selections and filing of claims.
The officials i n charge of the land office in Vermillion
could not speak Swedish, the pioneers could not speak
English, and thus Reverend Brown was needed as the i n ­terpreter.
The Swedes were anxious to obtain new homes,
the officials received a fee from the $14.00, the cost of the
file, and thus Reverend was truly in demand. He had a
general knowledge of law and was able to interpret for
the newcomers the rules and regulations of land grants.
Daniel Peter Brown, known as Reverend Brown, was
born in 1827 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of a minister
"This essay is one of more than two thousand manuscripts submitted to the
Swedish American Line in connection with the contest sponsored by the
Swedish American in commemoration of the Swedish Pioneer Centennial in
1948.
56
of the State Church of Sweden. He was educated for the
ministry. Whether he was ordained or not no one knows,
but presumably something had happened which degraded
his standing. He told nothing of his background; anything
pertaining to his past was secret.
He emigrated to the United States, and in his new world
he assumed the surname Brown which originally may have
been B r u n or Bruhn. Probably also to lose more complete­l
y his identity he enlisted for service in the C i v i l War. He
was mustered i n at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on March 5,
1862, as a corporal, Company E. 5th Minnesota Volunteer
Infantry.
The war records at the time of enrollment of Daniel Peter
Brown gave his age as thirty-five; his height, five feet,
nine and one-half inches; his coloring, dark complexion,
grey eyes, auburn hair, and his occupation, a "preacher."
The records say that he participated in the siege of Vicks­burg
which ended July 4, 1863.
The medical records of this soldier show that he was ad­mitted
to the United States General Hospital at Jefferson
Barracks, Missouri, August 10, 1863, and was discharged
from that hospital September 12, 1863. He was honorably
discharged at St. Louis, Missouri, as a sergeant, September
9, 1863, by reason of "disability, phthisis, and emanciation."
From the date of his discharge from the United States
Army to his appearance i n Clay County, Dakota Territory,
there is no record of Reverend Brown's whereabouts.
On February 1, 1869, Reverend Brown filed homestead
application at Vermillion for the south half of the south­west
quarter, Section 23, and the north half of the north­west
quarter, Section 26, Township 95, Range 52, Riverside
Township, Clay County, Dakota Territory. Patents for
the above described lands were issued to Daniel Peter
Brown on February 10,1873, under Vermillion final certifi­cate
number 201.
A dugout in the side of a bluff on his claim served as
Reverend Brown's first home. He lived in it for a short
period of time until he had the log cabin built. This cabin,
57
patterned after the Swedish Svardsjobor in Dalarna, was
built by two other homeseekers i n the locality. It was con­structed
of hardwood logs found along the bluffs of the
Vermillion River which ran through his claim. The two
pioneers received as pay for their labor an equal number of
logs required to build a log cabin. These they transported
by oxen and wagon to their respective claims for the con­struction
of their own homes.
The one-room cabin measures twelve feet by seventeen
feet and eight feet from floor to ceiling. The one door
opens to the south with a window on each side of the door,
one window to the west and one to the east. There is a
chimney at the far end. In one corner of the room is a
ladder stairway leading to a loft which was used for sleep­ing
room. The floor is plank hardwood. A mixture of mud
and straw was used to fill the space between the logs. Orig­inally
the roof was thatched, but in reconstruction the roof
has been covered with long "bottom hay" which grows wild
along the Vermillion.
Reverend Brown's log cabin was a regular rendezvous
for pioneers who came for advice on matters of varied i n ­terests.
Hosts of early settlers looked to him when i n need.
He was always the willing contributor. He often visited the
ill in the settlement and gave generously to those who were
i n want of food. In one instance he took i n the entire fam­ily
of a pioneer whose home had burned, and they remained
with Reverend Brown until a new home was built.
The log cabin was the scene of the first public school of
Riverside and Glenwood Townships. Reverend Brown him­self
conducted the school for three years before school dis­tricts
were established. His services were gratis. There
were many i n attendance as all were eager to have their
children learn the English language. In fact, many adults
attended the school. No textbooks were available; however,
with the aid of slates and slatepencils the three R's were
taught.
Before any church organizations were established i n the
settlement, the log cabin was the meeting place for reli-
58
gious services. Reverend Brown conducted the services on
Sunday mornings according to the custom and ritual of the
State Church of Sweden. He also baptized infants, per­formed
marriage rites, and conducted funeral services. He
conducted Sunday School at his cabin and trained young
people for Confirmation. There was no means for musical
accompaniment, but the services included the singing of
hymns from songbooks brought by the settlers from Swed-den.
Reverend Brown was a scholar and a naturalist. He
spoke fluently the Swedish, German, and English languages,
and he knew L a t i n and Greek. He also had a knowledge of
chemistry and botany. Below the bluff, near the river, he
kept a flower garden. He also built an arboreal pergola.
Within the shelter of the climbing ivy and wild cucumber
he had a table and chairs where he often sat and enjoyed
the outdoors.
For two years Sioux Indians lived on Reverend Brown's
land. Their tents were pitched on the bottom across the
river from his cabin. He was able to converse with the In­dians
and had purposely made friends with them to avoid
possible trouble. While wintering on his land, they elected
Reverend Brown their "chief." He often received gifts of
blankets and trinkets from them, and they when in need
relied on him for food.
While the usual means of transportation for the pioneers
was by oxen and wagon, Reverend Brown drove a span of
Indian ponies and a buggy. He did little actual labor; he
hired men to do his farming operations which were never
extensive; he drew no pension from the government; yet
he always seemed to have money.
A few people frowned on Reverend Brown's personal be­havior
and would have nothing to do with him. He used
intoxicants and was at times drunk. It was not uncommon
that after some meetings at the cabin, the floor would be
cleared and the visitors with him would engage in dancing.
Several of the Swedes were excellent fiddlers.
59
About the year 1882 Reverend Brown sold his farm to a
Norwegian on a crop-payment plan. The agreement was
that Reverend Brown was to receive a stated number of
bushels of wheat per year as long as he lived. It is not
known how well the terms of this agreement turned out.
After selling his farm, Reverend Brown moved to St.
Helena, Nebraska, and lived on land which, records do not
show, was acquired by him or may have been simply "lived
on." He often went fishing and occasionally crossed the
Missouri River to Yankton, South Dakota, to secure pro­visions.
On such trips Reverend Brown always carried with him a
knapsack made of beaver skin. In this he kept his personal
papers which he never allowed anyone to see or touch.
Following one of these trips to Yankton, the empty knap­sack
was found, but Reverend Brown had disappeared
completely.
Rumor has it that he was poisoned and his body thrown
into a well, the well being filled and abandoned. Other
rumor hints that a woman was involved. A l l rumor seems
to substantiate the belief that he met foul play. In any
event, Reverend Brown disappeared mysteriously; his life
previous to his arrival in the United States remains a mys­tery;
however, his stay in Clay County definitely is not.
Whether he was a saint or a sinner, Reverend Brown's
"Log Cabin on the H i l l " now stands not as a shrine but as
a memorial to a benefactor to two-hundred forty-four Swed­ish
pioneers who made settlement in Clay County and who
all were aided directly or indirectly by him.
This area of Swedish settlement covers approximately
forty-thousand five-hundred acres. Most of the pioneers
filed on a claim of one-hundred sixty acres; some filed also
on an additional one-hundred sixty acres under a "pre­emption
claim." Others took a claim of a forty or eighty-acre
tract under the "Timber Culture Act."
The sons and daughters of these pioneers, now in the
third and fourth generations, still own practically all this
60
land. Log cabins and ox-drawn wagons and plows have been
replaced by the most modern of homes and farm imple­ments.
There are schools and churches to accommodate all.
It is a happy, prosperous community adding an abounding
wealth i n spirit and material to the progress of our democ­racy.
Many of the descendants of these pioneers have remained
with the soil. However, others have made more prominent
names for themselves. Peter Norbeck, an ex-governor of
South Dakota and a former member of the United States
Senate, is one of these descendants. Dr. Henry Hanson, a
noted bacteriologist credited w i th stamping out yellow fever
in the Panama Canal Zone, was born i n Clay County a son
of a Swedish pioneer. The father of Clinton P. Anderson,
former Secretary of Agriculture held a homestead claim
in Clay County.
This is just a small start at numbering the descendants
of the Swedish settlers i n Clay County who are patriotic
citizens of the United States serving mankind in every ca­pacity.
Among these are many educators including, inci­dentally,
your writer, a public school teacher, Agnes Na­thalia
Hanson.
BOOK REVIEWS
G u s t a v u s A d o l p h u s : A H i s t o r y of S w e d e n 1611-1632 Vol­ume
I: 1611-1626 by Roberts, Michael. (Longmans,
Green & Co., London, 1953), pp. x i v + 585
The liaison between ivory tower and arm chair is one of
the most difficult and neglected of a l l writing jobs; Profes­sor
Roberts has set himself precisely this task and he has
succeeded superbly. He has not delved into the archives or
deciphered ancient manuscripts, but he has read exhaustive­ly
in the works of others who have published documents
61